Immortality
by Kilrez
Summary: Eyes wide, the Doctor raised two hesitant fingers to touch the blood that soaked the front of his shirt, stunned. Blood, with unblemished skin beneath. Oh boy. This was going to be interesting.Ten, and Jack, sometime after Doomsday. Minimal spoilers
1. Chapter 1

**Immortality**

Beta'ed by Zabrak Prophet, who wins my firstborn.

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Eyes wide, the Doctor slowly lowered his head to stare at his chest. He raised two hesitant fingers to touch the blood that soaked the front of his shirt, stunned. Blood, with unblemished skin beneath. 

'Well then,' he said after a long moment. He looked back up at his attacker- a terrified teenage boy, mostly human in appearance. The weapon in his hand was shaking badly, and he dragged his wide-eyed gaze from the Doctor down to the barrel, before dropping it like it burned.

'You… you…' he stuttered, looking ready to run.

'Indeed,' said the Doctor brightly, acclimatizing. It was not the worst of the shocks he'd ever suffered, but it was up there in the top ten. 'You might want to learn about the safety switch before you going playing with those things.'

'You're an alien. By the Five, you were going to invade the planet! I had to. I'm sorry.'

The Doctor sighed, raising an eyebrow. 'If only you knew the whole story.' He shook his head, making _tsk tsk _sounds. 'Kids these days- just don't pay any attention to their history lessons. I've saved this place more times than you've had hot dinners. Now as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I must be on my way.'

A momentary flicker of confusion broke through the terror on the youth's face. 'But… you're meant to be dying. The bloke who sold this to me said it'd kill anything!'

'Charming,' said the Doctor dryly, narrowing his eyes. He dug out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it briefly at the weapon that had just been used to shoot him. The thin barrel made a crackling sound and let out a cloud of smoke. 'There! Much better,' he declared brightly. Turning on his heel, he began to stride rapidly back towards the Tardis, trying not let the desperate hurry he was in show through. It would give the wrong impression. He heard the quavering demand to wait issue from behind him, and rolled his eyes. He didn't know why he bothered sometimes.

Relief washed through him when he finally located the Tardis again. He was deeply unsettled, and her familiar shape served to reassure him. Carefully fitting the key in the lock, he stepped through the blue wooden doors, shutting them firmly behind him before turning towards the console.

'Well?' he asked the air. 'I should be looking at a new face right about now. What on Rassilon's going on?'

There was silence, the dim green light and coral structures offering him no answer. Undeterred, he sprang forwards to the console, twiddling a knob here, pushing a button there. 'Bit of a scan. Just the thing,' he muttered to himself, distracted with what he was doing, but long in the habit of talking to himself.

It was mere moments before some results appeared on the screen in the circular Gallifreyan text. The Doctor cocked his head on one side as he read, becoming still. 'Well,' he said after a long silence. 'I should have realised.'

He looked around at the interior of his time ship, frowning. 'Forever? This regeneration is going to last… forever.' The second time it wasn't a question. 'Immortality. Funny word for a Time Lord to be bouncing about, eh?'

There was a slight brightening of the lights, almost imperceptible. 'Regenerations hardly count. They're finite,' he told his ship. She hummed to him, low and long.

'Well no one can ever _truly _come to terms with their own mortality.' He still seemed slightly stunned by the revelation, skin pale and vague smile on his face.

'I really should have thought. Oh gods. It all ran through Rose too…' he trailed off, gut twisting. There was an abrupt shower of sparks from the console, burning his hand. He jumped backwards, sucking on the wound.

'Ow! What did you do that for? It's not like I can get to her. She'll figure it out. She'll be okay. More than okay, actually. Forever…'

There was another jump of sparks, bigger this time.

'Well there's no need to be like that,' he growled in return, stalking around the other side of the console and going to lift up a floor panel. 'If you're going to be upset about it we'll just sit here until you've calmed down. There's nothing I can do. I'm immortal. Rose is probably immortal. We both had the time vortex run through us-'

This time he was cut off by a significant judder from the Tardis, smoke and sparks flying through the air. His eyebrows shot up. She was very distressed about something. 'What are you trying to…' he started off angrily, before realization hit him like a ton of bricks. 'Oh,' he said, eyebrows dropping. 'Oh,' he repeated, slumping down to sit on the floor.

'It's a long shot. It's a very long shot. But it might just be true,' he murmured, gaze turned inwards and a slow smile spreading across his face. 'Brilliant!' he declared suddenly, springing up and beginning to rapidly work controls. All signs of the Tardis's earlier distress were gone. If he'd have ventured to say anything, he'd have said that she was doing her utmost best to be accommodating, reaching back through the vortex, to a date so long ago it was mere myth by this time.

Hovering in the vortex, he began to search first, one of the very few times he preferred not to go in blind. This was too important to go wrong. He had to go in at just the right time or the whole of history might skew off its path. Because if he knew Captain Jack Harkness, the man would have been right in the thick of so many history changing decisions his personal timeline would somewhat resemble a pretzel. An 11 dimensional pretzel. With salt.

His eyes began to well with tears as he traced Jack back through history… From where they'd left him, straightening up the mess the Daleks had left on Satellite Five, and the planet below it. He'd done a wonderful job. Humanity back on course in a mere two years, reconnecting with other races, striding back out into the stars.

From there, an abrupt disappearance, a trail that might have gone dead if not for the Tardis's ability to track the time ripples caused by it. Back to 1909, apparently accidentally- it looked like he'd been aiming a little further forward. The Doctor smiled fondly. For all her unpredictability, there were few devices that were as accurate as his Tardis over such long distances.

And then; a positive cornucopia of world-savings. 'Need a better word for that,' muttered the Doctor to himself, eyes fixed on the screen. 'Maybe Savers? No.

Something though.'

Jack had lived straight through from that point it seemed, careful to be posted out of the country in 1941, when he might have met himself accidentally. He'd found love though, oh yes. The Doctor felt intense pride burning through him. It seemed Jack had shown immense strength, many a time carefully avoiding temptations of paradox. Earth's timeline in the 1900's had never flowed so neatly.

And through it all, time after time, Jack had been in the thick of it when the other-worldly things began to threaten. The Doctor frowned slightly, skipping forwards to the 70's, and then again. If it carried on like this, there'd be no place safe to pick him up without leaving the Earth undefended against the invading hordes.

Eventually, the Doctor gave up and closed his eyes, deciding to do it the easier way than the hard slog of research. The time flow almost instantly resolved itself to him. Thinking about it, that had become easier to do since the time vortex had ripped through him. He really should have realised earlier. Discarding those thoughts from his mind for a second, he sought Jack. It wasn't hard; he knew his one-time companion like his own right hand, and what's more, he glowed, alone in that time as something different. Something new, and different, and so very _alive._

Opening his eyes, the Doctor grinned. He'd found the right place.

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TBC (in the next chapter there will be Cardiff, Jack, gobsmackedness, and gratuitous hugging. Promise)  



	2. Chapter 2

**Immortality, chapter 2**

Still beta-ed by Zabrak Prophet. And I get the feeling that I will have run out of children by the time I'm finished with my Torchwood blitz.**  
**

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Opening his eyes, the Doctor grinned. He'd found the right place.

Almost without apparent transition, his stillness because movement and he was dashing around the console, working the controls with joyous energy. The time rotor pulsed brilliant green and the Tardis flung herself along the vortex, spinning wildly backwards.

For all that his ship had been eager for him to come here, the landing was far from smooth. In his excitement, he'd hardly been the most careful of drivers. Coughing, he sprayed a couple of spot fires with an extinguisher whilst the Tardis balefully shot sparks at him.

'Okay, okay,' he muttered defensively. 'I said I was sorry.'

He was just looking around to make sure everything else was all right when the doors were wrenched open, the white, natural light of midday Cardiff flooding the control room.

Eyes shining, the Doctor looked up, a painful smile spreading across his face, his breath catching in his lungs. For all that this was what he had come for; he could still hardly believe it.

'Doctor,' said Jack in attempted nonchalance from the doorway. He seemed out of breath, just a little.

The Doctor's smile turned to a full-fledged grin. 'Jack.' He nodded, matching the nonchalance in his tone, if not his facial expression. He put the fire-extinguisher down and thrust his hands in his coat pockets, standing tall.

'New face,' commented Jack, his own smile growing ever-wider.

The Doctor nodded again. 'Yup. What'd'you think?'

'Not bad. Kinda hot really.'

That got the reaction he'd been fishing for, as the Doctor laughed. Then, in a blink, they were hugging, having met halfway, in the middle of the control room. They were both laughing, and crying just a little, and holding on like they would never let go.

It was a very long time before they pulled away, Jack using the opportunity to look the Doctor up and down from up close. He was nodding approvingly before his gaze connected with the blood on the other man's shirt, exposed when the Doctor's long jacket had opened as they hugged. Jack frowned.

The Doctor saw him looking. 'Ah. Do you know about this?' he asked, sticking a finger through the hole in his shirt in demonstration. 'By rights, I should be convulsing on the floor in the midst of changing bodies. Not a scratch though.'

Jack chewed on his lip, meeting the Doctor's eyes anxiously. 'Boy have we got a lot to catch up on,' he said weightily, taking a deep breath.

The Doctor smiled. 'I know a fair bit of the story. You're what, 133 by now?'

Jack looked a little poleaxed. 'I hope I don't look it,' he managed eventually.

The Doctor chuckled. 'No. Not a day of it. But you're talking to a Time Lord who's a youthful 900 years young. I don't really pay so much attention to how old people _look_ anymore.'

There was a pause, the many questions Jack was bursting to ask thrumming in the air between them. 'C'mon,' said the Doctor, looking him up and down. 'Let's go get chips. Always better to discuss the deep natures of time and immortality over chips.'

That dragged a grin out of Jack, who held an elbow out to the Doctor. He laughed, but took it. It was only when they both turned that they realized they'd been observed for the past short while.

'Jack, what'd I tell you about shutting the doors? Were you born in a tent?' The Doctor said in mock disapproval, doing his best Jackie impersonation.

'Yes actually,' replied Jack, unable to wipe the smile from his face, even on seeing Gwen, Owen, Tosh and Ianto all standing open-mouthed just outside the doorway of the Tardis. 'Well, more of an emergency hospital canopy thingy. No doors anyway.'

The Doctor grinned at Jack's dissembling, then waved brightly at their audience. 'Hi! I'm the Doctor. Who are all you then?'

'Doctor, meet my team. Torchwood Three,' Jack cut in for them before they could speak. He could see Tosh already starting to get that curious look, and knew that very shortly she'd be buried up to her elbows in circuits, discovering every thing there was to know about things being bigger on the inside. Owen's basic nature had already shown him up, and he was smirking at the closeness the Doctor and his boss were displaying. For that matter, Ianto was almost looking slightly betrayed. Jack felt a small pang of worry on that front.

'Hiya,' said Gwen to the Doctor with a nod. She returned his wave with a small one of her own. Deep as he looked, all Jack could see in her eyes was a sort of shining joy. She had inklings of who this was; Jack's long hinted-at lost love, and she was happy for him. He felt a bright flash of pride for his team. Even more so when the Doctor spoke again.

'Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, and Ianto Jones.' The Time Lord shook his head, a small smile on his face. He unhooked his arm from Jack's and thrust his hands back into his pockets, a stance that Jack was rapidly beginning to recognize as his ground state. 'Pleased to meet you all.'

Jack looked at him surprised. 'You been stalking me?' he asked suspiciously. 'Why didn't you come sooner?'

'And leave the Earth without its primary defender? Who knows what could have happened. It would have been Reapers at twenty paces. I'm cutting it a bit slim even dropping in here. Can I just say I'm a great fan of the work you guys have done- you've certainly saved me a job or two.'

Owen had quirked an eyebrow. 'So let me get this straight- you're some kind of a time-traveller. And you know about all of us?'

'Know about you?' repeated the Doctor incredulously. 'You're myths. Legends, even. The answer to the monster under the bed anytime a child wakes up crying, for thousands upon thousands of years to come.'

That response aroused different levels of dubiousness and disbelief in all four member of Jack's team. Jack was looking thoughtful though. 'Now you mention that,' he said slowly, like he was thinking it out as he went; 'there was a fairy story or two, back when I was a kid. "The mighty Five, who held the Earth in the cradle of their hands, whose eyes glowed like fire and whose swords were as the mighty scythe of justice itself."' He raised his eyebrows at the Doctor, looking amused.

'I was raised on stories of _myself_?'

That made the Doctor grin so wide it looked as though his face would split. 'It certainly explains the ego, Jack Harkness.'

Jack laughed with abandon.

'Hardly surprising though, given everything,' continued the Doctor warmly. 'Always knew you were more than a conman, from the moment I met you.'

'Not the first moment,' corrected Jack, shaking his head, and grinning, embarrassed. 'Remember? I think you were about ready to kill me when Rose introduced us.'

There was a sudden sad pause, and their eyes met, as Jack realized what he'd brought up. _Later,_ the Doctor's gaze said, and Jack gave a small nod.

'Jack, when exactly are you from?' That was Gwen, sounding apologetic for breaking in. Jack focused on her immediately, looking at her carefully, framed by the door of the Tardis.

'I suppose you'd probably believe me now,' he muttered with a single shouldered shrug, almost talking to himself.

Owen looked indignant. 'What, you ever thought you could find something _we _wouldn't believe? Hell, I reckon I'd even be willing to go with the legend thing. It's not so hard to imagine really.' He preened slightly, and Gwen slapped him lightly on the chest, smiling. He caught her hand and winked at her. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Jack, which he ignored in favour of answering Owen's first question.

'OK, not so much lack of belief. More that once you knew, there'd be problems. It just gets a little too easy to start opening up paradoxes all over the place. And there's wanting to believe, and actually realising…' he trailed off, not knowing how to phrase it.

'When you from, Jack?' Owen repeated Gwen's question firmly, his expression not prepared to take anything but answers.

Jack sighed, and met each of his team's gazes in turn. He could see it in each of them, the desperate desire to know... 'Three thousand years in your future,' he told them, finally. It felt like a massive weight lifted off his chest. They were staring at him now.

'Jack, I can't help but think you've been playing up the man-of-mystery card for your own nefarious purposes.'

Glad to have an excuse to break those penetrating gazes, Jack turned to the Doctor, hands spread wide. 'Aw now, that's not fair. You got no proof.'

'I know you, Captain Jack,' said the Doctor, with a smile that was laden with innuendo.

Jack gave up any attempt at innocence, sly smile creeping back across his face. 'Well, you've looked all though history. You probably know the details, not to mention the ones even I don't know yet. Mm, could be fun finding some of that out.'

'What's he saying, Jack?' uttered Gwen in shock. 'That you're some kind of playboy?'

She had to glare at the Doctor as he doubled up in laughter. Jack just flashed her a white, perfect, charming smile. 'What, you don't think I made those stories up do you? You wound me.' He gave her a wink and strode past his still-gobsmacked team, tossing a parting comment over his shoulder. 'Coming to see the base, Doctor? We can order chips.'

Jack's team just looked at each other, barely noticing as the Doctor shut the Tardis doors behind himself and followed after their leader, heading for the hub. That left the four of them standing in the middle of the open space, next to a 50's blue police box, and a giant water tower. There were several seconds of silence.

'Well then,' Ianto finally said. Gwen blinked at him.

'No way,' she managed.

'What, the 3000 years in the future, or the playboy thing?' said Owen wryly.

'I always assumed he was just joking about all the things he's slept with,' offered Tosh.

'Women,' mock grumbled Owen, rolling his eyes and earning himself another light slap, which he ducked to avoid. 'C'mon then. Let's go find out about this Doctor fellow. And much more importantly, ourselves as larger-than-life tales from legend.' His smirk was somewhat insalubrious, but was nevertheless returned with some degree of eye-rolling.

'Trust you, Owen,' said Tosh. It didn't stop them following him eagerly, down to find out more about the man they'd fought beside to save the Earth time and time again.

The End


End file.
